10 HP Briggs and Stratton, only runs on CHOKE. Whassup?

Discussion in 'Non-Ford Engines' started by scooper77515, Jun 23, 2012.

  1. scooper77515

    scooper77515 No current projects.

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    Every 6 months or so, I fire up my portable generator. This time, it started right up but won't run once I take it off choke. It will run on half choke, but if I back it off a little it starts to starve and will sputter out on me. Runs smoothly with choke on, with or without air filter (it is clean and new).

    My brother-in-law's machine is doing the same thing this season :huh:

    Any ideas, hints, or solutions?

    The machine is pretty much brand new. I have had it three years, run it maybe 10 or 12 hours. Fuel has been mixed with Stabil, and I swap it out every two years if I don't use it.

    Not getting enough fuel?
     
  2. MaverickDan

    MaverickDan I wanna go fast!!!

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    Sounds like the main jets are clogged. If it has a fuel shutoff next time you use it set it to off and let it run out of fuel, helps keep the carb clean.
     
  3. Jsarnold

    Jsarnold Senior Member

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    Do you close the fuel line valve and run the fuel out of the carb after each use? If not, the carb is probably gummed up and not feeding fuel except on choke.
     
  4. scooper77515

    scooper77515 No current projects.

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    Yes, I always run it dry, then choke it to continue running until it is completely dry. I just drained and cleaned the tank, and replaced the fuel filter/petcock assembly, and the old filter and lines look fine.

    I will put it all back together and fill it with fresh fuel and squirt some seafoam aerosol into it and give it a "carb cleaning" and see if that helps.
     
  5. Dave B

    Dave B I like Mavericks!

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    Take the float bowl off the bottom of the carb, and see if there is a small hole drilled in the bolt that holds it on, make sure it's clean. The engine on my snowblower does that from time to time, I use stabilizer, and always run it dry in the spring.
     
  6. Jsarnold

    Jsarnold Senior Member

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    Hope the carb cleaning and fresh fuel does it for you. Guess I should get mine out and see if it will start. :yup:
     
  7. scooper77515

    scooper77515 No current projects.

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    It seemed to help a little, but didn't fix it. Wasn't worth the $12 bucks for the bottle of Seafoam. Once again, I am not impressed with the stuff.

    So, when the engine cools down, the carb is coming off for a rebuild, or at least a cleaning.
     
  8. scooper77515

    scooper77515 No current projects.

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    OK, tore the carb down, there was just a couple pieces of crud in the bowl, and the infamous varnish smell. Cleaned it all up, reassembled, and no difference. Still runs fine one or two clicks off CHOKE, but when I flip it any further toward RUN it falls on it's face and dies.

    Runs pretty good and putting out 123V with it on semi-choke. Should I just use it like that or am I missing something?
     
  9. MaverickDan

    MaverickDan I wanna go fast!!!

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    Running it on choke at all times will use a lot of fuel and could wash out the cylinders. Did you blow through the passages with compressed air?
     
  10. scooper77515

    scooper77515 No current projects.

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    Yep. First with carb cleaner, then with compressed air, hit one spot with a q-tip in the throttle body where there was a little brown stain, and slapped it all back together.

    No go.
     
  11. Jsarnold

    Jsarnold Senior Member

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    Or aerosol carb cleaner? I might run it for a while on partial choke with a small amount of gas and some injector cleaner mixed in. If that didn't do it, I'd disassemble the carb, soak it for a couple of days in carb cleaner, and blow passages out with aerosol. If it didn't run off choke after that I'd admit defeat and buy a replacement carb.:cry:
     
  12. scooper77515

    scooper77515 No current projects.

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    A good bit of the carb's innards are plastic, I doubt it would hold up to carb cleaner soak. Besides, it was amazingly clean, before, and more so after I cleaned it. Shouldn't be running this bad.

    Anyone have any idea what that spring and rod that control the automatic rpm adjustment go to? There is a second butterfly inside the carb just prior to the intake that is apparently controlled by vacuum, and is the actual throttle controlling the rpm. the spring and rod attach to the butterfly, then go somewhere behind some engine cover. What is at the other end of those?
     
  13. RASelkirk

    RASelkirk Retired!

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    Goes to a governor inside the flywheel that controls max RPM's, don't think there's any vacuum control on these motors...
     
  14. scooper77515

    scooper77515 No current projects.

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    Well, it looks like i need to tear the carb down again. Internet searches told me that the long brass tube with lots of holes in it needs to have EACH hole individually reamed out with a piece of monofiliment or similar non-metal probe. There is apparently a small piece of gunk in there somewhere.

    It is hot, over 100 today. But we have a hurricane heading our direction, so I guess I better get on it hot or otherwise.
     
  15. scooper77515

    scooper77515 No current projects.

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    "Fixed" it???

    I tore into the carb and all looked clean. But there was a spring in the float bowl that had moved before I could get the assembly back together. So I put it where it belonged, and now it runs in RUN but it wouldn't hold a steady idle. It kept bouncing up and down with that rod that controls the inner butterfly. I pulled the cover off and found a semi-elaborate array of springs, rods, and levers and you can move the springs into various holes to change adjustment, but I figured I would just bypass the entire self-adjusting idle mechanism.

    I wire tied the lever that had the rod on it, and set the idle adjustment screw at the other end so the inner butterfly stays at one place and is fixed.

    I checked the voltage and it was low, around 112, so I adjusted that screw until it came up to 120 +/- .2 volts (it still bounced a little).

    So, my question is this...when I put a load on it, my fixed butterfly will prevent it from opening up more, will this make me have a lower voltage as I put more load on it? Or is the torque on this thing enough to just pull it right at 120 volts despite the load (as long as it is appropriate to the motor, 5500 or whatever)?
     

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